Martin Jol last night warned Fulham supporters not to alienate Bryan Ruiz after they turned their anger on the Costa Rica international.

Ruiz was stunned by the reaction at Craven Cottage when he was replaced by Adel Taarabt in the second half of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Fulham fans, who have seen their team lose seven of their last nine Barclays Premier League home games, cheered when they realised he was going off and jeered as he left the pitch.

VIDEO Scroll down to see Martin Jol putting a brave face on defeat to Manchester United

Out of sorts: Bryan Ruiz was jeered by his own fans after a woeful performance against Manchester United

'Maybe they don’t need me but they need Bryan Ruiz believe me,' said Jol, who was also booed by disenchanted supporters.

'I can cope with it because I know football. I have 1,300 games, and I know if people in football are not happy they will give you stick but for a player like Bryan...

'Sometimes he is my best player and sometimes he gets caught on the ball and there are a few other players in the past like that. One of my heroes is Glenn Hoddle and people never gave him credit because he was sometimes like Bryan.

Key player: Martin Jol says Ruiz is important for Fulham

'People have to get used to him and if they don’t get used to him then we have a problem because I need Bryan Ruiz. He can give us a few goals. He came on against Leicester and was the best player on the pitch and that was only a few days ago.'

Jol took Ruiz aside after the United game to reassure the 28-year-old, who cost £10million when he signed from Twente in 2011 and has been playing recently despite a back problem.

'He is an unbelievably nice person so I had to whisper a few words in his ear,' said Jol.

'I said that he is arguably my best player and he should know that. Hopefully, he knows a couple of people here trust him and I am one of them.

'It is very disappointing. He came back from the Mexico game and he scored and they won 2-1 and he goes to the World Cup. There he is a hero and here they boo him off the park.

'That is very frustrating and very disappointing because I want my supporters to stay behind my players.'

Ruiz took to Twitter yesterday to say: 'I want to thank those who are supporting me in this difficult time.'

Dejected: Jol has come under fire from Fulham fans after a string of poor results

Apart from that moment, Jol was the main target for abuse.

Fans chanted 'Jol Out' and sang 'You don’t know what you’re doing' when he took off Scott Parker but the manager has received no complaints from owner Shad Khan.

'I am always waiting for a few critical remarks or comments but he is not doing that,' said Jol. 'Only positive things.'